Brake



Apr 29, 1952 s. E. HOUSE BRAKE Filed June 6, 1946 /Nl/e/v TUR. @Pm/Vf. Hoa/5f @gw Arran/ve Y.

Patented Apr. 29, 1952 UNITED SYTES`Al OFFI CE- Thisinventiongrelatesfto brakes, and particu,-

larly-to brakes-.of the type -in which oneor more` shoes'ar-e expandedY into contact with a rotatable brake drum.-

In Charles'ZPatent No; 1,776,488 there is dethe-otherdirection. Such a brake can be veryl useful in certain installations, as on the front wheels of passenger cars, because the important braking eiortf'is required when the vehicle is moving Ain a v-forward direction, and the front wheel brakes need not be very eicient during rearward movement of the vehicle, if satisfac-l tory rear wheel brakes are provided. Although a brake in which the yshoes are self-energizing in bothV directionl of `rotation constitutes a much morerecientbrake inxreverse, it is somewhat more'expensive than the one-way type of self- '25 energizing brake; and may therefore in some instances -be :replaced by the latter in order to reduce cost.

In. general, it isthe object of the present invention to provide animproved brake of the type in whichl the shoes are; individually self-energizing in one directiononly.

More specicallyt is anobject of the present.

of the folldwingdescription, reference. being had thereinltolthe ,accompanying drawing, in which:

Figurel is a side elevation of a brake assembly incorporating the invention, certain parts of the ,brake being. shown in., section; and

Figures 2 and 3 are sections taken on-the lines 2.-2 and 3-3, respectively, vof Figure 1.

The brake, illustrated in the drawing includes thefusual.,rotatable drum I2, and a supporting member. or support plate I4 which has a plurality of openingsV I6, Yadapted `toreceive bolts which securethe support plate to a non-rotatable part of thefvehicla-such, for example, as the conventional steering knuckle.

Located diametricallyopposite one another and carried bythe support platev I4 are two hydraulic actuators-.IIB .and 2E). The hydraulic actuators may, asshownbe` secured to the support plate by meanstofflat flanges 22- which are integral withthe-casin'gs -24-oi the actuators, and which lie against the side'of the support plate, a plu-` actuators `vtofthe support plate. Preferably the flanges A22am-slightly oiset'from the center of thehydraulic actuatorain order that the axes actuators'iwhich arerv illustrated as identical in i invention to providemabrake ofthe type under.A

discussionin which the anchoring and applyingk forces are exerted in .the plane of the supporting member, thereby eliminating twist or bending stresses on said member.

Another object ofthe present invention is to..k

cussion,novelfshoe-guiding means which main:`

tain theshoes `:inv the `proper'lateral position, both during vbraking and, between brake, applicatons..

This permits the shoes.

Othereobiects@andradvantages yofthe present".

inventionwill becomeapparentfduring,thecoursef .155;

of. thexbores of said actuators may lie in the plane of: the '-,body` portion, Aor central portion, of the supportgplate 14'.

construction); is;closed1at one endzby a wall 28, in

substantiallyxradially extending slot 33. The

- other, orzfopen,endpf each casing is provided with a cylindricalborer S2; in which reciprocates a pistonfSE-l.- Pressure: tending to move piston 34 awayt'fromf itsresting;place` against surface` 36 ofiwallL-Zlis :provided by fluid under pressure yobtained,ffromffa suitable' pressure source, such as-th conventional-master cylinder. Hydraulic actuaton', whichL is" shown in Figure 3, is connected throughlport 381to the master cylinder, whereas-r.hydraulic` 'actuator I8 is connected th-roughv condutll `and port 42 to the interior of hydraulic actuator 2',th'e port in hydraulic actuator;v IST-"whichv` corresponds to port 38 of hydraulic..actuatorx being .normally closed by meansrofitthefusualxbleed screw, which can be removed Ytorpermit.,bleeding,of `the hydraulic systeni. i. A .-bleedingmrrangement :andv .operation suitable:forfthis;brake is. described,` and claimedY in. Goepfrich :andv House.` application Serial-No. 663,085;I-leds` April v18,VA 1946, new Patent No. 2,4676g425r.;l

The piston 34 of each hydraulic actuator, which is provided with the usual annular seal 44 and rubber boot 46, also has an internally threaded opening 48 formed in its outer end and carries a plate 50 at its outer end which is secured to the piston by means of the upset flange 52 provided on the piston. The plate 56 has a plurality of teeth '54 adapted to receive a suitable adjusting tool. Screwed into the internally threaded opening 48 of the piston is an adjusting screw having a threaded stem 56 and an enlarged head 58 provided with a flat-bottomed slot 60.

The drum-engaging parts of the brake are two T-section shoes 62 and 64. The shoes are provided with rims `68 and strengthening webs 1U, the rims having secured thereto the usual brake lining segments 12, and the webs having convexly curved end surfaces 14. Each of the shoes is guided, or in other words held in the proper lateral position, by having the central portion of its web in enga-gement with a surface IE provided on an outwardly extending guide arm 'i3 of support plate I4, and by having one end extending into the slot 60 provided in the respective adjusting screw head and the other end extending into the slot 3D provided in the closed end portion 28 of the respective casing 24. It will be noted that the guide arms 'I8 of the support plate I4 are offset laterally to permit the shoe webs to lie in the plane of the center portion of the support plate (see Figure 2) The shoes 62 and 64 are normally retained in released position (as shown) by means of two return springs B6 and 82 connected in tension between the ends of the shoe rims at opposite sides of the brake. The springs 80 and 82 are preferably laterally offset from the shoe webs in such a way as to provide a force holding the shoes in contact with the surfaces 'I6 of guide arms '18. This feature is discussed more fully in Goepfrich and House application Serial No. 663,084, led April 18, 1946, now Patent No. 2,502,948 issued April 4, 1950.

Assuming that the arrow F represents the direction of drum rotataion when the vehicle is moving forwardly, then it will be apparent that both shoes 62 and 64 will be fully self-energizing, anchoring against the bottom surfaces of the slots 30, and being applied by the pistons 34. Owing to the novel anchoring expedient, which permits longitudinal movement of the shoes, the efliciency of operation of the brake is considerably improved. Of course, when the shoes are rst moved outwardly into engagement with the brake drum by force transmitted through the piston 34, the shoes rock about their curved ends T4. Under normal circumstances, this rocking movement will probably suffice to bring the shoes into full engagement with the drum along the entire length of the lining. If, however, there is any tendency for the toe or heel of either shoe to engage the drum in advance of the other portions of the shoe, due to eccentricity of the shoe with respect to the drum, this situation is automatically remedied by sliding movement of the shoe along its anchor surface.

The provision of an anchoring arrangement of this type is also particularly valuable in simplifying the brake adjusting operation. In order to reduce the clearance between a given shoe and the drum, the respective piston 34 is rotated by inserting an adjusting tool, such as a screw driver, into one of the teeth 54 formed on the piston periphery and prying to eifectrotational movement. Since the adjusting screw is not capable of rotation because of its engagement with the shoe web, rotation of the piston causes axial movement of the adjusting screw and thus changes the released position of the shoe. During adjustment, the toe of the shoe is moved outwardly, causing the curved heel to roll on the anchor surface and bring the shoe into engagement with the drum. If one part of the shoe contacts the drum ahead of the other, longitudinal sliding movement of the shoe will permit full engagement to be obtained, after which the adjustor is backed off sufficiently to provide the minimum clearance.

Although a particular embodiment of my invention has been described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the object of the invention may be attained by the use of constructions different in certain respects from those disclosed without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. I therefore desire by the following claims to include within the scope of my invention all such variations and modification by which substantially the results of my invention may be obtained through the use of substantially the same or equivalent means.

Iclaim:

l. For use in cooperation with a rotatable brake drum, a brake comprising a support plate adapted to be secured to a non-rotatable member and having two integral outwardly extending axially offset guide arms located at opposite sides of the brake, two hydraulic actuators located at opposite sides of the brake substantially mid-way between the aforementioned guide arms and each comprising a casing closed at one end only and provided with a substantially radially extending flat-bottomed slot in the outer surface of said closed end, each casing having an integral flat flange by means of which it is secured to the support plate and a cylindrical bore at its open end which is on an axis lying in the plane of the support plate, a single piston reciprocable in the cylindrical bore of each casing, said piston having a threaded opening in its outer end and a toothed outer periphery, an adjusting screw associated with each piston having a threaded stem extending into the threaded opening of the piston and having a head provided with a nat-bottomed slot, two T-section shoes each having a strengthening web which lies in the plane of the support plate, each of said shoe Webs centrally engaging one of the support plate guide arms and having convexly curved end surfaces, one of which extends into the slot provided in the head of one of the adjusting screws, and the other of which extends into the slot provided in the closed end of one of the casings and is capable of moving bot-h pivotally on and sliding along the flatbottomed surfaces of the slot, and return springs which urge the shoes toward retracted position and also hold the webs of the shoes in engagement with the supporting plate guide arms.

2. For use in cooperation with a rotatable brake drum, a brake comprising a support plate adapted to be secured to a non-rotatable member and having two integral outwardly extending axially offset guide arms located at opposite sides of the brake, two hydraulic actuators 1ocated at opposite sides of the brake substantially midway between the aforementioned guide arms and each comprising a casing closed at one end only and provided with a shoe-guiding slot in the outer surface of said closed end, each casing having an integral flat ange by means of which it is secured to the support plate and a cylindrical bore at its open end which is on an axis lying in the plane of the support plate, a single piston reciprocable in the cylindrical bore of each casing, said piston having a threaded opening in its outer end and a toothed outer periphery,

an adjusting screw associated with each piston having a threaded stem extending into the threaded opening of the piston and having a head provided with a shoe-guiding slot, two T- section shoes each having a strengthening web which lies in the plane of the support plate, each of said shoe webs centrally engaging one of the support plate guide arms and having one end extending into the slot provided in the head of one of the adjusting screws and the other end extending into the slot provided in the closed end of one of the casing, and return springs which urge the shoes toward retracted position and also holds the webs of the shoes in engagement with the supporting plate guide arms.

BRYAN E. HOUSE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,967,382 Taylor July 24, 1934 2,041,463 Frank May 19, 1936 2,192,293 Waseige Mar. 5, 1940 2,245,682 Kerr June 17, 1941 2,313,432 Goepfrich Mar. 9, 1943 2,316,450 Parnell Apr. 13, 1943 2,322,121 Frank June 15, 1943 2,380,814 Whitacre July 31, 1945 2,475,492 Goepfrich et al. July 5. 19.49 

